Be Careful If You Buy Land! When considering buying raw land in Wyoming, it’s important to be informed about a number of factors that could impact your decision. Year round access, legal access, and utilities are just a few of the things to keep in mind. Access during the winter months can be a challenge due to snow and harsh winds, and legal access may require taking legal action to gain access to the property. Utilities are an essential part of any land purchase and should be considered before making a decision. The main considerations include water, electricity, natural gas or propane, telephone (landline or cell service), internet and cable TV. When it comes to water, a well can be an invaluable source of fresh water, but it’s important to determine if water can be accessed and to test the well for minerals and bacteria. Electricity may be available from a nearby power line, but it may need to be brought in from a more distant source, which can be costly. Solar power is another option for electricity, but it has its own pros and cons including high initial costs, the need for lots of space to install solar panels, and the fact that there is no solar power at night.
Have you ever imagined owning your own piece of land? I think most of us have had this thought at some point in our lives. Buying land can be an exciting experience, but it also can be a big financial commitment. It’s important to be informed. Before you begin the process, you should thoroughly research the area and get to know all of your options. You’ll need to have a clear understanding of your budget, any potential legal issues involving the land, and what you plan on doing with it.
Hi, I’m Alisha Collins with the Alisha Collins Real Estate Team. As a landowner myself, I love talking about what you need to know when considering purchasing your own little piece of this beautiful place.
When it comes to land in Wyoming, year-round access can be an important consideration. This is something you may have not thought about. The winters here can be particularly harsh. Take the snowfall we receive, combine it with our crazy winds, and you can sometimes have a bit of a wintry mess making it difficult or impossible to reach certain areas by vehicle. Tractors and other heavy machinery are often used to plow snow in order to maintain access. However, sometimes even that is not enough in some of the outlying areas.
In Wyoming, legal access is also an important consideration when purchasing land. According to state law, no one can be prevented from having access to the property that they legally own. This means that if a neighboring landowner blocks access or fences you out, you may have to take legal action to gain access, which unfortunately could cost tens of thousands of dollars. A solution to a problem like this could be having legal easements onto the property providing access. You’ll need to understand what those easements mean. How wide are the easements? Are there provisions for gates? Because guess what? Landowners do have the right to install gates anywhere within that easement. Wyoming law states you must open and shut the gate each time you enter or exit. I have only seen this happen one time in my career where the person with the easement, who purchased the land after the easement was placed, didn’t like said easement so he fenced it in and placed three gates just to be mean. The problem in this particular case was that it was hard to get large trailers into the property for moving or even hauling horses. Thus, the landowner I was working with netted less money for his property, all because the landowner owned the easement. Would you ever have guessed something like that could happen?
Another factor that might be overlooked is utilities. Utilities are an incredibly essential part of any land purchase. Before making a decision to buy it, it’s important to understand what type of utilities will be available and how far away they’re located from the property. The main utility considerations include water, electricity, natural gas or propane, telephone, landline or cell service, internet, and even cable TV. Some of these can present a challenge and may just not be possible in the more rural areas.
Water is an essential resource for any landowner, and a well can be an invaluable source of fresh water. Before buying a piece of land, it’s important to determine whether water can be accessed through drilling, and you’ll want to know approximately how deep the well needs to be to reach a safe, adequate supply. After a well is drilled, it is important to have it tested for minerals and bacteria. This process can provide valuable insight into the quality of the water and its suitability for the variety of uses. The testing lab will be able to provide information about what kinds of minerals are found in the water and what you should do to filter which minerals, if needed. Reverse osmosis water filtration systems are a popular choice for homes that situated in rural areas that rely on wells for their water supplies. The RO process consists of pushing water through a semipermeable membrane which is designed to remove impurities and produce clean, pure drinking water. These systems are relatively easy to install and require only minimal maintenance.
Electricity is another important factor to consider when purchasing land. Depending on the location, electricity may be available from a nearby power line, or it may need to be brought in from a more distant source. If electricity must be brought in from a more distant source, the cost of installation can vary greatly depending on the distance and the difficulty of the installation. And, in some cases, it isn’t available at all. A couple years ago, we got a bid for electricity north of Casper. It was 40 acres and already had a shop built on the property. Electricity was going to cost $2 million. Yes, you heard me right. Needless to say, that was a no-go. That person did not buy that property.
Another option for electricity could be solar powered. This is a lesser used option with certain pros and cons. The most noticeable con is going to be the high initial cost for the material and installation right out of the gate. You also need to consider the fact that you need a lot of space to install solar panels. Don’t forget that there isn’t any solar panel at night. You’ll need a large battery bank to store the power collected through the day. This goes for cloudy days as well. More clouds will mean less energy can be collected. There is far less solar potential in the winter months as well. If you are into curb appeal, yes, that’s a thing, even in the country, you might know that some people think solar panels are ugly. I am definitely not one of those, and maybe you are one of those. Extreme weather conditions such as heavy snowfall and strong winds can damage or destroy solar panels, further limiting this as a viable option. You could use wind power windmills as well. Although I have seen my fair share of windmills, I don’t know a whole lot regarding their use to directly or indirectly power homes here in Wyoming. Maybe that’s a topic for another video.
When it comes to buying land, covenants and HOA restrictions as well as improvement and service districts are an important part of the process. It is important to understand that these restrictions are there and how they will affect the use of the land. HOAs have a number of restrictions, and property owners must abide by them. The most common of these are landscaping standards which help to ensure the aesthetic appeal and livability of the area for the residents. This can include rules about the type of plants and flowers. HOAs are present even in some country living areas. HOAs and covenantses also will determine how many and what animals you can have on that property. So if you have eight llamas or seven horses, you need to read the covenantses and make sure that they are allowed on the property. This goes for other animals as well. Some country HOAs even limit how many dogs you can have, so it’s important to read that. I also hear a lot of people that are coming from big cities that they don’t want an HOA. An HOA actually protects the land as well so that you have a consistent type of building in the area and you don’t have a lot of different types of homes that do not add to the aesthetic feel of that rural neighborhood.
It isn’t just a city issue. When buying land, it’s important to understand where the lot lines are located and make sure that any fencing or other structures built on the property are correctly placed. Boundary lines are typically determined by a survey of the property. It is important to ensure that boundaries have been accurately plotted as this will help you make an informed decision about what and where something can be built.
So buying land is exciting. It is also something that should be approached with a tool belt full of knowledge and research. If you know the right questions to ask, it’s always going to turn out better for you in the long run. And of course, having an agent that is on your side is the most helpful thing to place in that tool belt.
Be sure to like and subscribe, and comment below if you have any questions about buying your own little piece of land. As always, I am passionate about all things Wyoming and all things real estate. I love where I live, and I want you to love where you live too. See you later.